He Bingwen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Lord Cheng, marching and sending troops is not a child's play. Relying on drawing lots to decide … Ahem, isn't it a bit …"
Cheng Qiyun smiled, "Since marching and fighting is not a child's play, I am just a woman and not a general in the army, how can I make the decision?"
He Bingwen was speechless and could only smile bitterly, "Is Lord Cheng blaming me for shirking the responsibility? When it comes to fighting, whether it is on land or on water, there are similarities in the deployment of troops. The specific tactics are taught by the navy, so what do I have to worry about?
Actually … Mr. Yang often said that war is not fought for the sake of war, so you can't fight for a moment of pleasure. But I am good at war, but I am a layman when it comes to politics. So I am not sure if this war should be fought, when it should be fought, and to what extent it should be fought. Lord Cheng has been following the governor and understands Lord Cheng's mind better, so I sincerely ask for advice. "
Cheng Qiyun smiled, "Wouldn't it have been better to say this earlier? Then I will temporarily act as Lord Cheng's counselor today and help you with ideas. From what Adeni said, the Frangji we call is not one country, but two. Right now, we don't know if Luzon Frangji, Manchuria Frangji, and Macau Frangji are all from the same country and what their relationship is.
Second, the western pirates have the support of the imperial court, and even … some regular armies actually do pirate business, so we don't know what the identity of the Manci Pirates is.
Therefore, we can't guess how the Manci Pirates will react if we annihilate this group of smugglers, and whether they will break this temporary stalemate. After all, no matter how many enemies are killed on the battlefield, it will not become a reason for the country to have a grudge. But because the smugglers assassinated a corrupt official, they killed thousands of women, children, and children. There is no reason for this. "
Cheng Qiyun glanced at He Zongbing. Seeing that he was listening attentively, she continued, "But on the other hand, the Frang Ji who occupies Man Ci Jia will not give it up without military force. So, this battle with them is certain. He has seen the strength of Ming Destiny's navy, so he is willing to give up the idea of taking it by force. In the future, he will do business with Ming Destiny honestly. From this point of view, there is no need to be too polite to them."
"However, they are now the overlords of the sea after all. They have already taken control of the sea line from the west to the east. If Ming Destiny wanted to develop shipping, he had to take them seriously. The two countries were separated by tens of thousands of miles. If they really became enemies, due to the long battlefront and the long distance between them, no one would have the ability to harm the foundation of the other. Wars were a waste of resources, and other countries might even fish in troubled waters. So why bother?
"So …" Cheng Qiyun picked up the tea and said with a smile, "So, this war must be fought with knowledge. We must make them feel pain and fear, but we can't create an unresolvable hatred."
He Bingwen listened thoughtfully and pondered for a while before saying, "What Lord Cheng means is that this war still needs to be fought, but we should try to kill as few people as possible to leave room for future changes."
Cheng Qiyun said happily, "Exactly!"
Adni heard that more than half of the island was Frang Ji's women and children. She couldn't help but feel compassionate and took the opportunity to say, "It is difficult to subdue the enemy without fighting, but it is not difficult to minimize casualties. They fled in panic. There are not many cannons on the ship, plus there are many women and children. It is difficult to guarantee their combat power.
If we lure their warships away during the battle and transport troops to occupy Yu Zhou Island, cutting off the warships' retreat, and at the same time take the women and children on the island as hostages. Then we announce that once they surrender, the court will punish them leniently. I don't think they will have the determination to perish together. "
He Zongbing's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Wonderful, build the plank road in the open and cross the river in the dark. Take the hostages, refrain from shooting the rat for fear of harming the innocent, and finally use the strategy of attacking the heart. Miss Adni's plan is wonderful. "
Adni smiled a little guiltily. This strategy was not thought of by her. When da Gama's fleet attacked the indigenous tribes, they often used this trick due to the limited strength of the fleet.
They relied on the sharpness of the firearms and used a force to lure the native warriors away. Then another hidden force would take the opportunity to attack their tribe, take the women and children hostage, and then threaten them to surrender.
It's just that … the result of the natives being forced to surrender was often the massacre of the young and strong men with fighting power. 'Leniency' was always an empty promise. If their forces were not enough to control the entire tribe, slaughter became an inevitable method.
Cheng Qiyun said again, "Just now I saw several generals testing the warships outside. They were talking about using small ships to fight big ships, and using many ships to fight few ships. The combat power of this Frang Ji is limited, and we are mainly forced to land, so it is not suitable to kill a large number of people. It is just right for the fleet to test this tactic. "
He Bingwen smiled and said, "You mean Peng Shaosha's' Five Points of Plum Blossom Formation '? Well … "He thought for a moment, then his eyebrows relaxed and said," Well, let's do that! Come on, beat the drums and gather the generals! "
※ ※ ※
"Serafer, this is not the way to go. We should take the risk and escape to Mang Ci Jia. Although there is the Ming Destiny Navy blocking us, we will be safe as long as we rush over. What should we do now? I can see the land across from here. The Ming Destiny court will definitely send troops. "
A blond man shook his head impatiently and said, "Pires, stop complaining. The people of Mang Ci Jia are a group of pirates. We have not dealt with them before. They may be Spanish."
The musket dangled from the belt around his waist. He tore off a stalk of grass, and his leather boots stepped on the lush weeds as he climbed to the top of the cliff. He put his hands on his hips and gasped for breath. "Even if they are Portuguese, they are just a group of gangsters, prisoners, and robbers.
The officials of the Ming Dynasty may cut off our heads as punishment, but if we fall into the hands of these pirates, they will sink all our men into the sea, then rob us of our gold coins and play with our women. "
He shrugged and said, "Dear Pires, if that is the case, I would rather fall into the hands of the Ming Dynasty than be chopped into pieces by the double-edged axes of the pirates and thrown into the sea to feed the fish."
As he spoke, he went to a rock by the cliff and sat down.
At the bottom of the cliff was the azure sea. It was as clear as a piece of jade. The waves that hit the rocks were as white as lilies on the jade. The waves pushed out white lines that looked like beautiful patterns.
He rested his elbows on his knees and put a hand to his forehead in irritation, the sea breeze stirring his hair as restless as his mood. Pires, a red-haired man in his forties, patted Serafer on the shoulder comfortingly and sat down beside him.
The seagulls flew low in the air, and there was a cry. Pires muttered in a low voice, "The food we brought with us is only enough for seven days. The news of the killing of the Macao officials must have been reported to their government. I don't think they will sit idly by. We have to think of a way."
The Macao he was talking about was Macau. When they first arrived here, they asked the people who were going to the Mazu Temple for the name of the place. The people mistakenly thought they were asking for the name of the temple and replied, "Ma Ge". The Portuguese, who did not understand the language, decided that the place was called "Macan". Although they now knew the real name of the place, they were used to calling it Macao.
"I know it's safer to escape to Luzon now, but it's hard to say if we can stand firm. In addition, the Mermaid was seriously shelled and has to stop at the port for repairs. The most unfortunate thing is that we still have three merchant ships that haven't returned. If we escape from Macao in a hurry, I'm afraid we'll be separated from them. "
Serafer stood up excitedly, spread out his hands and shouted, "My God, those are the three cargo ships I just built. If they don't get the news, they'll be seized by the Ming army when they return to Macao. Damn it! My ship! My ship! Oh, my ship! "
His last 'ships' suddenly rose an octave, like a ghost's scream, startling Pires. He quickly said, "Serafer, calm down, calm down. The Chinese say, 'Where there is life, there is hope.' As long as we regain our foothold in Luzon, we can build as many ships as we want."
Serafer pointed to the sea as if he had seen a ghost and continued to shout, "Ships, so many ships! My God, it's the Ming warships! "
Pires turned his head to look in astonishment. There were indeed dozens of warships sailing over from the sea. The sails were spread and they were riding the wind and waves. Pires' expression changed drastically as he cried out, "God, there are so many ships! Quick, escape immediately! "
Serafer looked intently and narrowed his eyes. "They're all small boats, no large warships. We can't outrun them in terms of speed, but we can kill them with our firepower. Come on, let's go down the mountain and get the warships out of the harbor. We'll be finished if we're stuck in the bay. If we sink them, we will have enough time to repair the 'Mermaid' before they send a large fleet, and then we can escape to Luzon. Let's go, Pires! "
With the crisis looming, the desperate nature of the two opportunistic smugglers was aroused. They hurriedly went down the mountain to gather warships to fight. When they weighed the anchor, raised the sails, and slowly sailed out of the bay, a similar number of flat-bottomed sand boats appeared behind the Ming warships. They turned around halfway, making use of the characteristics of ships that are suitable for sailing in shallow waters and submerged reefs, and approached the reefs of Yu Zhou. The Portuguese warships that were turning out of the bay did not notice this other group of enemies at all.
This group of Portuguese had five warships, but the Mermaid was seriously damaged during the escape and was docked for repairs. There were only four warships left. In addition, there were two armed merchant ships equipped with four cannons. Relying on the strength of the ships and cannons, they aggressively faced the Ming fleet in the shape of a goose's wing.
The blue sea churned. Although there were many Ming warships, they were obviously small warships. According to their understanding, each warship was equipped with two cannons. This kind of firepower was obviously not a threat to them, so the Pirate King, who was in the vanguard, did not wait for the warships on both sides to cooperate. He sped up and rushed towards the Ming fleet, wanting to be the first to sink a few Ming warships and defeat the Ming warships in terms of momentum.
The white-haired Peng Shark stood at the bow of the ship with his hand on the railing. Han Wu and another naval officer stood beside the helm. This battle was the first time that many ships with weak firepower were used to fight against enemy ships with concentrated firepower but relatively few numbers. It was a battle of technique. Just in case, Han Wu, a navy officer who had become a military officer halfway through his career, held the attitude of learning and observing. He handed the authority of command over to the veteran officers who were experienced in naval warfare.
Peng Shark narrowed his old eyes and watched the movements of the enemy ships. The large warship in the center broke away from the formation of the winged fleet and suddenly advanced without the cover of the ships on both sides. This immediately attracted his attention.
The main sail of the enemy ship swooped down. Seeing this, Peng Shark immediately ordered, "The enemy ship is about to attack. All ships, split up and surround them!"
The huge body of the enemy ship slowed down and began to tilt. The row of densely packed guns had already revealed the first muzzle. But the experienced Peng Shark had already given the order to disperse when the enemy lowered the main sail. The nimbleness of the small boats was completely put to use at this time.
The Pirate King's huge hull was slowly moving into its attack position when it suddenly realized that the jagged Ming warships had split into two groups and moved to the left and right. The open sea in the middle was completely given to them. The Pirate King's hull had already moved horizontally and was waiting to be attacked. It had to readjust its position.
But taking advantage of this opportunity, four small Ming warships closed in from the bow and stern like madmen. At the same time, the Ming warships that had split into two wings dispersed again. The two groups became four groups, and the four groups became eight groups. Each group was made up of four to five ships. Using the sudden insertion and agility of the ships, they avoided the vitals of the Portuguese ships' guns and tried their best to close in.
Boom boom boom! The Portuguese ships that arrived later opened fire first. The cannons created columns of water on the surface of the sea, but because the Ming warships dodged, and at the same time the vanguard warships had penetrated into the Portuguese camp, the cannons could not be fired without fear, and the damage caused was limited.
With a bang, a Ming army's clipper ship hit the Pirate King. The huge hull of the Pirate King shook a little, and the sailors grabbed their battle axes and muskets and rushed to the side of the ship. They lay on the side of the ship, shooting and throwing weapons at the small boat.
But they were shocked to find that the Ming soldiers wearing helmets and holding rattan plaques did not attempt to board the ship. They did not hook their sickles or hook onto the side of the ship. They only heard a series of thuds. Then, like cowards, the Ming soldiers abandoned the ship and jumped into the water. They desperately swam far away.
No one knew what was piled up on the ship, but the fire spread in an instant. Moreover, the fire ship stuck close to the Pirate King like a maggot on a bone. As the ship moved, it moved, and the fire did not stop. The sharp-eyed sailors noticed that the Ming Army had nailed more than a dozen iron chains to the deck of the Pirate King's ship, so the sailors could only curse and throw down their swords and guns to get water and extinguish the fire.
But at this time, the other Ming ships closed in. They used a large number of flammable firearms, such as rockets, jets, fireballs, fire caltrops, smoke balls, and smoke cans. Although they did not cause too much damage to the Portuguese ships, they made a mess and the sailors could not deal with it. Because the ships were close, even though the Ming ships only had two cannons, they attacked in circles. In addition, the Portuguese ships were huge and obvious targets, so the damage could not be underestimated.
One of the armed merchant ships was hooked by the Ming warships. The cannons on the ship lost their effectiveness. Four ships used grappling hooks to hook onto the merchant ship. Soldiers started to climb onto the ship. Another ship used guns and arrows to suppress the firepower on the ship to provide cover.
"Oh no! This is like ants trying to eat an elephant. We can't use our firepower advantage at all! " Seraph, who had been careless for a moment, realized they had been tricked. She immediately ordered all the warships to leave the battle and escape the Ming encirclement so that they could regroup and use long-range attacks and cannons to attack.
The Portuguese warships forced their way out, but one side of the Pirate King's ship had a large hole burned in it. The waves were not high at the moment, or else the wind would create huge waves and water would rush into the cabin. The Pirate King would definitely flip. The other ship, Seraph, dragged the fire ship, smoke rising from the bottom of the ship as it fled.
Other than the Ming ship that burned itself, the other three ships were destroyed by the Portuguese warships. In terms of casualties, the Ming had slightly more soldiers, but two of the four Portuguese warships were damaged. This was a loss that they could not afford.
The Pirate King retracted the warships and rearranged the attack formation in fear. They only had five ships left. One of the Portuguese merchant ships had repelled the Ming attack three times, but the Ming army finally rushed onto the ship. When Seraph ordered the fleet to leave the battle circle, the ship was still fighting for control. Now it looked like it had been completely occupied by the Ming army because it had also joined the Ming battle formation and was in an attack formation.
※ ※ ※
The troop transport ships had already quietly approached on the other side, and a large number of infantry waded ashore. As Yu Zhou was too big, the Portuguese did not arrange any guards on this side. They sent out scouts to explore the terrain and find out the enemy's situation, but after searching for nearly three miles of mountain roads, they did not find any suspicious traces and had already rushed back to report.
Peng Xiaoshou showed off his strong muscles, a ghost head broadsword on his shoulder, and ordered the infantry to get into formation with a stern face. Adnie stood beside him valiantly. She wore a full set of bright silver fish scale armor, the silver helmet on her head shining, but she did not hold a sword. She only had two short muskets on her belt.
Her armor was actually not made of iron, but paper armor, which was light and easy to carry. Originally, He Bingwen and Cheng Qiyun were determined not to allow her to fight. They both knew how important she was to Yang Ling, but Adnie insisted on coming. Besides, to find someone who was proficient in the Franco language, could quickly gain the trust of the women and children on the island, and pacify them, it was Adnie. In the end, the two had to agree, and secretly told Wu Hanchao and Song Ai to protect her safety.
At this time, Song Ai was squatting next to her with a smile. She could not help but laugh as she watched Wu Hanchao retch there. She patted Wu Hanchao's back and said with a smile, "Lord Peng already said that this ship is not as stable as the inland official ships. I told you to sit down, but you still tried to stand. Hehe, Wudang's Thousand Pounds Drop can stop your feet, but it can't stop your stomach, right?"
"Ugh, ugh, stupid girl, be gentle. Ugh, why are you fine?"
"Hehe, I've never been on a ship, but I'm fine. How would I know?" Song Ai covered her mouth and laughed.
"Is General Wu okay? Why don't we let him stay and rest for a while, and we'll lead the army. "Adnie said with concern.
Wu Hanchao smiled bitterly as he stood up and shook his head. "I'm fine. Get ready to go, I can keep up."
What a joke, he had the responsibility of protecting Adnie, how could he stay here by himself? Not to mention that Adnie was an extremely important figure in improving the Ming army's firearms. Just her identity as the governor's fiancee alone made him unable to be careless.
The Ming army set off along the winding coast. The archers and gunners were in front, and the swordsmen and shieldsmen were in the back. There were no heavy infantry or equipment in the army.
The Portuguese set up camp on the hillside facing the sun. There were sixty armed guards in the camp, and the sailors on the 'Mermaid' were rushing to repair the ship. They were also soldiers who could participate in the battle at any time. The others were the wives, children, and servants of these Portuguese smugglers.
Because there was a battle on the sea, even though they couldn't see the battle from here, all the families stood on the shore and looked into the distance worriedly. When the Ming army appeared behind them, no one noticed it. In the end, it was the sailors on the ship who first noticed the Ming army approaching quickly and hurriedly shouted.
The panicked women and children screamed and scattered, while the soldiers grabbed their weapons and looked for cover. The sound of gunfire rose and fell, and the coast was covered in smoke. Two Portuguese suddenly stood up from behind the rocks in front of them. Several archers hurriedly nocked their arrows and took aim. With two bangs, the guns in the hands of the two Portuguese flew far away.
Adnie held two smoking guns and squatted back behind the rocks, only revealing a pair of beautiful big eyes to stare at the battle in front of her. She was about to reload when the two frightened Portuguese were shot by several sharp arrows and fell down. Adnie frowned and shouted, "Don't kill those who have lost their weapons, try to capture them alive!"
At the same time, she raised her voice and shouted to the other side in Portuguese. But even though they understood her language, the Portuguese refused to believe her and still relied on the rocks everywhere to resist stubbornly. But they had too few soldiers who could fight. Other than the hillside where the battle was deadlocked, the Ming army had already spread out to capture the women and children who were fleeing in all directions. Soon, they would form an encirclement on all sides. The Portuguese's counterattack was getting weaker and weaker under the suppression of the Ming army's arrows and guns.
※ ※ ※
On the sea, the two sides clashed again. The Portuguese in the distance began to attack with fierce gunfire. But after the first round of competition, the Ming army had some experience in cutting and encircling the enemy. The ships moved more flexibly and at more tricky angles.
The Ming warships that seemed to be in no formation formed groups of four or five, each with a target, weaving in and out. The cannonballs created water columns around them, and their agile and fast movements minimized the possibility of them being hit again. As they fought back with their cannons, they approached Zhang Heng purposefully. After losing another three warships, they once again formed a group to surround Zhang Heng. Like a group of crazy piranhas, they stared at a big sea shark with sharp teeth but no place to bite, and attacked it unscrupulously.
The main Portuguese warships had dense gunfire. Once the warships of both sides formed a mixed formation, they could not form an effective attack at all. The situation was like a giant waving his fist and fighting a mass of air. Seraph was about to go crazy.
At this moment, a series of dense explosions came. The sound of the explosions was dense and violent. Seraph looked towards the source of the explosions in horror and saw that the flames were still ringing. The 'Maria' was thick with smoke and flames.
With another series of muffled explosions that sounded like thunder, the entire ship split in two. Seawater quickly poured into the belly of the ship, and the two halves of the ship were pressed together in the middle. The bow and stern of the ship were raised high, and some of the sailors who were lucky enough not to be killed screamed and desperately jumped from the ship into the sea.
The battle seemed to stop at this moment. Everyone watched the giant ship, which was fifteen meters long and three stories high, sink inch by inch into the sea in the midst of the explosions, and see it surrounded by thick smoke and fire. Finally, someone cried out, "God, the 'Maria's' gunpowder store has been hit, it's sunk!"
The Ming army's warships also temporarily stopped attacking. The cannoneers on the five small boats besieging the 'Maria' were dumbfounded. They did not know who had fired the cannonball so coincidentally that it hit the enemy ship's ammunition depot, causing this huge ship to sink.
Under normal circumstances, even if this enormous ship stopped there and allowed their cannons to attack, even if they fired all of their cannonballs, they might not be able to sink the enemy ship. The probability of this happening was so small that even the overjoyed Ming navy stilled where they stood.
The desolate sound of the conch horn woke both sides of the battle. Pires looked in the direction of the bay in a daze and saw a small merchant ship swaying towards the battlefield, a dazzling white flag hanging from the mast.
The ship was getting closer and closer. Everyone could clearly see more than a dozen women, old people, and children standing on the bow. Behind them were the Ming soldiers in bright armor, unsheathed swords, and nocked bows.
The fighting spirit of the Portuguese quickly disappeared. Although they were fighting, they were not real warriors. The sinking of the 'Maria', the heavy damage to the 'Pirate King', and the fact that the island had been occupied and their wives and children had been taken captive made these desperate smugglers timid.
Serafer noticed that the eyes of the soldiers were filled with hesitation, especially when the Portuguese family at the bow shouted, "Put down your weapons and surrender. The Ming court will be lenient." Many of the weapons in their hands slowly lowered.
Serafer knew that the situation was hopeless. His ship had been flooded by the surging waves during the fierce battle, and the hull was slightly tilted. He staggered to the side of the ship and shouted after a while, "Lower the flag, we surrender!"
His subordinates did not hesitate to carry out the order. Serafer looked to the south of the sea and squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying. "Maybe … Pires was right. If I had fled to Manci …"
When Yang Ling secretly returned to Fuzhou, he heard the streets and alleys saying that the Ming army had won a great battle and captured a large number of foreign ghosts. The men and women were vividly describing the situation of the prisoners of war being escorted through Fuzhou. Yang Ling did not know what had happened and could not help but feel his heart tighten.
If there was a mistake while he was away, as the commander-in-chief, he would undoubtedly bear all the blame. When Yang Ling heard that the foreigners had been escorted to Commander-In-Chief He's camp, he did not even return to the governor's mansion. He hurried through the city and went straight to the camp.
Yang Ling charged into the tent and saw two men with golden hair and blue eyes standing in the middle of the tent. There were two other people standing beside them, their skin so dark that it looked as if they had just crawled out from a pile of coal. The whites of their eyes were especially obvious. Yang Ling was startled and cried out in surprise, "Black people?"
At this time, a pleasantly surprised voice called out, "Dear Yang, you're finally back." Saying this, a handsome young general in bright silver scales suddenly threw himself into his arms.
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